9 Steps to Happy Hormones

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    BUILD YOUR STRESS TOOLBOX🌻 - A couple of weeks a go I asked a few poll questions, one of them: I want to manage stress better and 95% of everyone who answered that said yes. NINETY-FIVE PERCENT. - That means not only are we all pretty much feeling stressed out, we want ways to deal with it better, or feel like we’re not managing it well right now. That’s where the toolbox comes in. Because a lot of the time we’re not going to be able to change the stress itself but we can change how we REACT to it. With tools. - Tools help us shift us from a stressed state to a more calm state. And there are definitely destructive tools as well as productive / helpful tools. - Maybe we feel even more stressed because the things we’re using to manage stress are also adding to our stress? That was part of my story with alcohol. I first learned the concept of building a toolkit when I took Hip Sobriety School (now @jointempest – definitely check it out if you’re questioning your relationship with alcohol) and @holly taught about building our sobriety toolbox – things we can turn to instead of alcohol. Or whatever other numbing tool of choice. The thing is, these more destructive tools work in the moment, but they’re really more of a high interest loan we have to pay back – so even if we feel better for a little while, we feel worse later on and that just ADDs to our stress and takes a toll on our body. Which may already be running on fumes. - So where do we start? Start by making a list of all of the things you’re currently doing to manage stress. What is working? What is not working so much? What things can you focus on ADDING. Pick 3-5 to start. When we focus on the things that we’re going add, versus trying to stop doing something, we have a more positive mindset focus and the things that we don’t want so much can start to fall away simply because there’s just not as much space for them. - What are your favorite stress tools in your toolbox? My recently added tools: essential oil desk rollers and EFT / tapping. Let me know below!✨
    HORMONE HEALING PLATE🌻 - Keep your blood sugar balanced with protein, fiber, and healthy fat at meals ✔️ - 🥚Protein: 2 eggs - 🍑Fiber: 1 peach, sprouted flax bread - 🥑Healthy fat: ¼ avocado, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, almond butter - 🌻Extra hormone support: sunflower sprouts (support hormone detoxification) - To boost protein at breakfast I also like to add coffee / tea / matcha / dandelion root tea with a scoop of collagen - Have you checked out my 4-Week Hormone Balancing Meal Plan yet? It’s 75% off until next week and maps out 4 weeks of hormone-friendly meals (link in bio) 🙌🏼🌻✨
    CYCLE SYNCING EXERCISE🧘🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️🏋🏻‍♀️🤸🏻‍♀️ - It can be helpful to know which types of exercise can be beneficial to include throughout your cycle but also to understand what is going on with your hormones during each phase. - 🌹MENSTRUAL: this starts with day 1 of your period. More restful + restorative activity like active rest days, light weights, walking, or yin yoga. Your hormones are at their lowest, which means your energy levels may also be a bit lower. Honor your energy levels but incorporate some light movement if you feel up to it. - 🌷FOLLICULAR: once your period ends your estrogen starts to rise and you may find you have more energy. Start increasing the intensity of your exercise. - 🌺OVULATION: your hormones are at their highest and you may find your energy is the highest in the middle of your cycle. This is a great time for cardio and higher intensity exercise (UNLESS you feel extremely fatigues, low on energy, or kind of burned out – then honor this and stick to more moderate exercise that doesn’t get your heart rate up as high, like strength training or a yoga class) - 🌸LUTEAL: your progesterone peaks and then all of your hormones start to decrease until your next period. This is a good time for strength training. Also if you often get PMS symptoms really tap into what your body wants and needs (that may not be forcing yourself to the HIIT class if your just not feeling it). - These are just a guide – it doesn’t mean switch up your ENTIRE workout routine week by week, but rather tap into your energy and adjust accordingly. I personally do mostly yoga and some pilates but will fluctuate between more restorative/yin and more of a power/strength focused. - Want more hormone balancing tips? Download my free guide 9 Steps for Happy Hormones (link in bio)✨
    EASY HORMONE-FRIENDLY DIN🌱✨ - Tray meal is a go-to in my recipe rotation because it’s so easy to just throw everything on a sheet pan, throw it in the oven, and that’s really it. - Salmon is a great source of omega-3s – fatty acids that we MUST get from food and salmon is one of the best sources. Omega-3s can be super helpful to prevent period cramps. Cramps are caused by inflammatory prostaglandins and omega-3s can help balance these out = less pain, happier period, happier YOU. Portion size of protein is about the size of the palm of your hand. - Include any of your favorite veggies – crucerifous veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and bok choy are all great to support you liver to detoxify estrogen from the body. Imbalance of estrogen can = unwanted PMS symptoms. - Root veggies are great for your luteal phase (about the week before your period) to help detoxify estrogen as well. - Use your favorite spices, spray or drizzle with avocado oil (it has as higher smoke point than olive oil, which is great for drizzling once cooked). Toss everything from your tray meal onto a bed of your favorite greens and you have a super easy dinner option that takes 2 minutes to prep! Find some of my other tray meal recipes with #composedtraymeal - Want more happy hormone recipes? Grab my 4-Week Hormone Balancing Meal Plan for 75% OFF! It’s on super sale and the price will go up next week! (link in bio) 🌻
    ANXIETY – PHYSICAL ROOT CAUSES + WHAT TO DO 🌻 - A lot of times with anxiety we think of it as mental / emotional and that certainly can be the case, but there are also many reasons on the physical level in our bodies that can be impacting anxiety as well that we don’t talk about as often. - Nutrient deficiencies can contribute to anxiety. Nutrients = vitamins, minerals, amino acids (from protein), fatty acids (from fats), carbohydrates. There are certain nutrients that are absolutely crucial for mood and cognitive function and if we’re not getting them then anxiety can result as a SYMPTOM. - We get nutrients from food and if we’re not including foods that support our bodies with adequate nutrients then we can be low or deficient. But more goes into this than just what we’re eating (or not eating). Stress can burn through nutrients (specifically B vitamins), medications can use up more of specific nutrients (to check your medications and possible nutrient depletions go to mytavin.com), if we have poor gut health we may not be absorbing nutrients as well, our genetics can impact our natural detoxification pathways which can affect nutrient levels, and drugs & alcohol can impact our nutrients as well. - I’ve listed which nutrients have the most impact on our mood and anxiety. If we are deficient or low in ANY of these anxiety can be a symptom. - There are certain lab tests to identify what’s going on in your body. I commonly use DUTCH hormone testing and GI-MAP gut health test in my practice which can give us a good picture of what is going on. DUTCH test includes some vitamin and mood chemical markers in addition to hormones. I’ll often recommend getting iron (ferritin) and vitamin D checked with your doctor. Organic acids can give us info about our vitamin and mineral levels in the body. If we have certain variation of the MTHFR or COMT genes, it can affect nutrient needs and may indicate a greater need or a specific form of vitamins that play a role in mood and anxiety. - The foods I listed are great sources of the nutrients listed above. Want more food/recipe ideas? Get my 4-Week Hormone Balancing Meal Plan that includes these good mood foods (link in bio)✨
    The idea that we have to do it all can be one of our root causes for so much stress. What if I told you: you don’t have to do it all. You don’t. How does that make you feel?✨ - For so may of us we’re chronically saying yes, stretching ourselves too thin, not honoring our own needs, setting boundaries around our time and this can weigh heavy over time. - This can affect our stress hormones and have a downstream effect on the rest of our hormones. Chronic stress can result in gut issues, period problems, low energy, fatigue, moodiness, anxiety. - So if you’re running around feeling like you hae to do it all, use this as your mantra this week: I give myself time to rest.🧘🏻‍♀️ - Rest is productive. We think that productivity = getting stuff done. Rest is just as important to balance out, to regroup, check in with our needs, and ultimately show up as the best versions of ourselves. - Want more hormone balancing tips – check out my free guide 9 Steps to Happy Hormones (link in bio)🌻✨